The concept of standing in line patiently waiting for your turn, for whatever reason, is ingrained in us as an everyday task, almost as natural as breathing.
One day, a line formed from somewhere within the depths of the Ala Moana shopping mall and came out past Manaola, and around the corner past Barnes and Noble, the satellite city hall, the Jack in the Box, Macy's, winding around the corner past Goma-Tei, and all the way to Pi'ikoi. From Pi'ikoi, the line stretched to Ward Centre, ending at TJ Maxx. What was the line for? Where was its starting point, and why were people willing to stand in that line for that length of time? A curious news station assigned their fledgling reporter to the task, who enthusiastically went with a camera person and bravely traced the line to its starting point. It began in front of a door in the old basement parking at the Ala Moana Shopping Center.The young reporter asked people why they were standing there, and each one shared that they received an email and text from someone named The Lizard King, who was giving away a million dollars to the person or persons who could maintain a standing line in front of that very door. Therefore, the line didn't lead anywhere; it just had to start in front of that door, wherever it ended. The person who maintained their place in line the longest won a million dollars. Naturally, as time went on, people dropped out and the line moved up. If you cut the line or bribed someone to let you take their place, you were all disqualified. Nearly a month later, the line dwindled down to twenty people. Before that, the line had stretched as far as the Eagles Cafe on Nimitz. Many reasons were given for the line shortening out. Exhaustion, sickness, being assaulted by the homeless, or domestic differences that became physical. Whatever the circumstances were, the line now comprised twenty people. It maintained itself in the basement parking lot of a shopping center, which was built over a landfill. The smell was unbearable, which was one coming from the basement and the other from the shit and piss buckets that people had with them. There was a type of sweet-smelling lye that everyone threw in their shit buckets to deaden the smell, and it did. Until you had to take another shit. An hour near sunset, everyone's phones pinged.
A mass text which said, 'The winner receives a million dollars waiting on the other side of the door.'
A month later, the line was down to five people. The fifteen others got into a fight over a contestant slamming his piss bucket on the pavement, which caused a backlash of piss to splash up and catch a few people on their feet and fingers. Horrified by such a disgusting act, fists flew, and kicks shot forward. It was on like popcorn, and people stepped out of their line, trying to murder one another. All fifteen were eliminated, disqualified, and banned. Five left, and they spent most of an hour laughing at where they ended up as opposed to where they were in the beginning. The first in line, standing in front of the door, was actually last in line when the contest started.
"I was at the end of Ward Centre when this contest first started," Calvin Derry said.
"I was at Leonard's Bakery," Berm Pacheco laughed.
"Eagle's cafe," Tammy Hironaka nodded.
"Tanaka Saimin," Dorelle De Ette raised her hand.
"Highway Inn," Mrs. Teruya shared.
"Strange that the line always ended at a food place," Calvin mused.
That was the length of their conversation. By the next morning, everyone but Calvin was dead. The parking lot was overrun with people who came to see Calvin, the last person left who was on the verge of becoming a millionaire. But the question became, who killed everyone else?
The door was wide open, with a shimmering light emanating from the inside. The crowd stood in awe of the sight. With a bit of hesitation, Calvin stepped through the door. A second later, Calvin walked out with a carry-on case containing a million dollars.
....to be continued
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